Member's Press Release

Mike Hall Eric Nelson

CHARLESTON – The Joint Select Committee on Tax Reform will meet at 8:30 a.m. May 4 in the House Government Organization Committee Room (Room 215-E) at the Capitol.

“The main purpose of this session is to look at where the code is now, and how some of the principles of taxation over the years could be layered into what we do next,” Committee Co-Chairman Senator Mike Hall, R-Putnam, said. “We collect billions of dollars from our citizens, and we have a responsibility to look at how we do that. Tax reform should not necessarily mean increases or cuts, it just means to evaluate whether the system is efficient or fair to all. This is not a partisan issue. This is about doing what’s best for West Virginia and her future.”

In the morning sessions, the Committee will review West Virginia’s current taxation system, and hear presentations on Gov. Cecil Underwood’s 1999 Commission on Fair Taxation and Gov. Joe Manchin’s 2006 Tax Modernization Project. Mark Muchow, Deputy Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Revenue, will provide a historical review of studies of state taxes in the afternoon session.

“The Tax Reform Committee is approaching our task with an open mind with no preconceived notions of change,” Committee Co-Chairman Delegate Eric Nelson Jr., R-Kanawha, said. “We'll begin with basic education about the taxes imposed in this state and review the tax structure as it exists today and how we got here. From these reviews, the Committee should be able to examine more closely specific ways the Legislature can modify our tax structure to ensure that it is fair, simple, and will help to promote economic growth.”

The Committee meetings will be live streamed at www.legis.state.wv.us/live.cfm.

All information discussed during the meetings will be posted to the Legislature’s website, which can be found at http://www.legis.state.wv.us/committees/interims/committee.cfm?abb=tax. Information also can be found on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/WVTaxReform and via Twitter at @WVTaxReform. The Committee also requested all public comments be e-mailed to tax.reform@wvlegislature.gov.